1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
35i 
COLD FACTS ABOUT TRANSPORTATION. 
Difficulties of Transportation.— The problem 
of getting perishable products to market in good con¬ 
dition is always an important one, and often diffi¬ 
cult as well. The difficulty is increa-ed when long 
distances are to be covered. The shipping of perish¬ 
able fruits and vegetables long distances is a compara¬ 
tively modern practice. With improved methods of 
handling and packing, and better transportation fac 1- 
ities, the distances to which these products a’-e s°nt 
have been constantly increased, until now there seems 
almost no limit. Less than 10 years ago, two or three 
car-loads of California fruit a week were about all 
this market could take care of; last season, the record 
often exceeded 100 car-loads for a single week. Not 
many years ago, southern fruits and vegetables were 
an almost unknown quantity in this mrrket; now we 
have come to depend upon them as a regular source 
of supply, and if they are cut off for a season, as they 
were the past Winter by the unprecedented freeze, they 
are sadly missed. 
Long-Distance Shipments. —Not only are these 
products sent across the Continent, and from the ex¬ 
treme South to our northern borders, but they go 
across the sea. Large shipments of American apples 
have gone to Europe for many years back, and Cali¬ 
fornia fruits have become a familiar figure in British 
markets. These developments have come at the ex¬ 
pense of great outlay of thought, study, experiment 
and capital. Many experiments have been made, 
many inventions developed, many mistakes made 
Though present methods are far in advance of those 
of a few years ago, they are not yet perfect, and 
changes and improvements are constantly bei’-g 
made. 
Ventilated and Refrigerator Cars. —Californ a 
shippers have tried both ventilated and refrigerator 
cars Georgia peach growers have tried cars fitted up 
with patent tystems of ventilation, but from result-^, 
it seems probable that the refrigerator cars have betn 
most satisfactory. Either of these systems is expen 
sive, but if results are satisfactory, the outlay is war¬ 
ranted. One of the greatest difficulties with the re 
frigerator car is the fact that it has generally bet n 
necessary to put on a full load at the starting point. 
In miny parts of the country, too, railroad compan'es 
have neglected or refused to fu nish refrigerator 
service. This has betn a great hindrance to the small 
shipper. 
The Original Refrigerator Crates. —This state 
of affairs led to the adoption of refrigerator crates 
for sending southern berries to northern markets. 
Their use has increased largely during the past few 
years, and has resulted in the placing of the fruit in 
market in much better condition than was possible 
with the open crate sent by express. The older styles 
of refrigerator crates usually had a small iee-pan in 
the center of the top layer of fruit, with a row of 
berry baskets set around it, or else a narrow partition¬ 
like receptacle extending vertically through the cen¬ 
ter. These were deficient in many ways. There 
were faults in construction, and the body of ice seemed 
too small to be effective. But these were the begin¬ 
nings that led to better things. 
The Improved Refrigerator Crates.— Son e 
call them pony refrigerators. They have been most 
largely used for shipping strawberries from Florida 
to the northern markets. At Fig. 140, a 64 quart crate 
is shown, which is reproduced from Tee It. N.-Y of 
March 5, 1898. Several different forms have been, 
and are still in use, but the style shown seems to be 
best adapted for the purpose, and to be the favorite. 
The improvement is in the manner of supplying the 
ice ; the latter is in a shallow, galvanized tray fitting 
in the top, and the full size of the crate. The idea in 
the newest patterns seems to be that the ice is dis¬ 
tributed over the entire upper surface of the crate, 
thus cooling the whole evenly, and as cold air settles, 
it goes all down through the crate uniformly. The 
berries in these crates seem to arrive in fine condition. 
Construction of the Crate. —The construction is 
pretty well shown in the illustration. This crate 
measured, outside measure, about two feet two inches 
by two feet six inches by two feet seven inches. It 
held four layers of quart baskets, 16 in each layer— 
64 in all. As shown, a drain pipe extends from the 
bottom of the crate up nearly to the bottom of the 
pan, and a spout from the latter drains off the water 
from the melting ice. The ice-pan can be lifted out 
to get at the berries. There is a ventilator through 
the middle of the crate as shown. The whole is sol¬ 
idly built. The cover is fastened on with bolts set 
stationary in the crate, projecting through the cor¬ 
ners of the cover, and fastened with nuts. The latter 
cause a good deal of trouble to receivers, as they are 
sunken in the cover, and it is difficult to get at them 
with an ordinary wrench. Some crates have a differ¬ 
ent and preferable device for fastening. I believe the 
crate is patented. Most of these crates hold five tiers 
—80 quarts ; the artist drew a 64-quart one. 
Expensive and Cumbersome.— These refriger¬ 
ator crates are heavy to handle, and expensive to ship. 
But they have given the advantages of refrigerator 
service to sections otherwise deprived of it, and have 
led to the securing of refrigerator cars where they 
might not have been secured otherwise. The cost of 
transportation of strawberries by refrigerator crates 
is, I believe, about 13 cents per quart, a pretty big 
slice of the returns often received for this fruit. Any 
possible reduction in this big item of expense is a 
great help to the growers. 
A New Refrigerator Car Service.— This was put 
into operation early in April by the Ga. S. & Fla. 
Railway Co. With the aid of the C. F. T. Refrigerator 
Car Co., they have inaugurated a pickup system by 
which small shipments may be made in refrigerator 
cars, the cars stopping at different stations, and tak¬ 
ing on small shipments. The first car which arrived 
in New York contained 175 crates picked up from six 
different stations, and coming from 115 growers. The 
berries arrived in good condition, and sold for highest 
prices, Since this shipment, other cars of fruit have 
been sent to a number of other northern cities, and 
reports fro n all indicate that the berries arrived in 
good cond tion. The cost is not much more than half 
that by the refrigerator crates, and the special fast 
trains in which these cars are run, bring them into 
market in good season, another great advantage. The 
sections eDjeying this service will have a great ad- 
A SOUTHERN REFRIGERATOR CRATE Fia 140. 
vantage over others ft is reported that growers along 
the lines of railroad bav'ng this special service are 
planning to increase their plantings largely for an¬ 
other year. 
Possibilities of this Service.— It is interesting 
to consider the extent to which this service may be 
developed. The probability is that it will be cheap¬ 
ened ; the more it is cheapened, the more widely it 
will be extended, and the greater the range of 
products that will be handled. Fruits from nearer 
sections than ever before will be sent in refrigerator 
cars or crates. Delawa e, southern New Jersey, and 
Oswego County will likely use this service for berries. 
More distant markets may, also, be reached. There 
is a great difference between fruit shipped in the 
common, hot box-cars, and that coming in cool 
and fresh in refrigerators, and this difference will 
often make a sale. The service is a great thing for 
both producers and consumers. f h. v. 
Events of the Week. 
Domestic.—A mob of 5 000 people, respectable residents of 
Syracuse, N. Y , collected, April 21, and tore up street-car tracks, 
destroying all street-railroad p*operty within reach. This was in 
retaliation for the continual disregard of public comfort shown 
by the street-car company. . . There is a serious outbreak of 
smallpox in Chicago and other parts of Illinois . . The Hoi- 
gan Line freight steamer Whitney was lost in the Gu’f of Mex¬ 
ico, April 22; 12 men were lost with her. A violent storm pre¬ 
vailed along the Gulf coast, resulting in numerous wrecks, and 
doing much damage along shore. At St. Bernard, Miss , several 
houses were bio wn down, and one was blown into the river. . . 
No verdict has been reached in the trial for the murder of the 
negro postmaster at Lake City, S. C. The jury disagreed. . . 
John I. Higgins, of Freeport, Ill , a well-to-do farmer, came east 
to hold dealings with green-goods swindlers, who promised him 
$3,COO in counterfeit money for 1380. He was swindled in the 
usual style, receiving strips of cardboard and paper in return 
for his money. . . A collision occurred in Puget Sound between 
the steamers Kingston and Glenogle, April 23. The K ngston 
sank Immediately, but no lives were lost. The property loss is 
$300 000. . . A forest fire near Waterford, N. J., April 23, 
burned one man seriously and destroyed 600 acres of pine tim¬ 
ber. . . The South Carolina Supreme Court upholds as consti¬ 
tutional the law providing that a county in which a lynching 
occurs shall pay 12,000 damages to the estate of the victim . . 
A crevasse 250 feet wide opened in the levee at Bayou La Fourche, 
Miss., April 24, and serious damage is feared to cane lands. . . 
A trust in plumbers’ supplies, capital $35,000 000, and a combina¬ 
tion of worsted yarn spinners, with a capital of $70,000,000, have 
been incorporated in New Jersey. . . The Georgia mob which 
tortured and burned at the stake a negro murderer April 23, 
hanged and mutilated another negro April 24, although taere was 
no evidence against him. . . The counterfeiting conspiracy 
brought to light In Philadelphia a week ago grows in extent. 
Ex-United States District Attorney Ingham and Deputy Internal 
Revenue Collector Downey have been arrested charged with aid¬ 
ing the criminals to dispose of bogus Treasury notes and tobacco 
revenue stamps. Thousands of cigars have been seized, having 
bogus stamps. . . An explosion in a Philadelphia chewing- 
gum factory April 25 killed two persons, and wounded 79 others. 
People in the adjacent streets were mowed down by the flying 
debris. . . The war tax on the estate of Edward Austin, paid 
at Boston April 25, amounted to $200,000. . . The sheriff of Cook 
County, Tenn., w-as killed from an ambush April 22, while con¬ 
ducting a revenue raid. . . Capt. Dillon, of the United States 
transport Morgan City, has been fined $350 for cruelty to his crew. 
. . The transport Crook arrived at New York April 26, with 
her second cargo of soldiers’ bodies from Cuba and Porto Rico, 
356 being carried on this trip. There are about 300 bodies re¬ 
maining near Santiago, but as they are chiefly the victims of 
contagious diseases, they will not be removed until cold weather. 
. . Capt Coghlan, of the Raleigh, is to be relieved from his 
command, and officially reprimanded, owing to remarks made 
by him at the Union League dinner in New York, reflecting on 
the conduct of the Germans at Manila. The truth of his re¬ 
marks is not questioned, but the utterance of them is regarded 
as indiscreet, and Germany demanded an apology. . . An Eng¬ 
lish counterfeiter was arrested in New York April 26. He was 
buying silver bullion to make English shillings, expecting to 
make his proflt between the cost of the bullion and the face 
value of the coin. . . A prairie lire near Mitchell, S. D., has 
burned over 35,000 acres of farm land, and was still burning 
April 26. . . A tornado struck Kirksville, Mo., April 27, wiping 
out the eastern side of the town. A broad, clean path nearly 
one-quarter of a mile w ide was swept as clean as virgin prairie. 
Wrecked buildings took fire. The tornado was followed by bail. 
First reports give 31 dead and 70 injured. Newtown, a small 
town, received full force of the storm, being practically de¬ 
stroyed; 15 killed and 30 wounded. The Soldier River Valley, in 
Iowa, was also visited by the storm; many killed and injured, 
and much property loss. . . A Chicago man has been awarded 
$10,000 for improper use of the X-ray. His ankle was exposed to 
the X-i ay, to locate the cause of stiffness, with the result that 
the flesh became decomposed, and to save his life three amputa¬ 
tions of the leg were necessary. . . The Arkansas Anti-trust 
act has been declared unconstitutional by Circuit Judge Martin, 
at Little Rock. 
Army ami Supplies.—April 22 General Breckenridge pre¬ 
sented his report on army beef to Secretary Alger. This report 
affirms that the canned roast beef was unwholesome and unfit, 
and alleges that the evidence of the witnesses shows that there 
• was good reason for susp'clon that the beef was chemically 
preserved General Breckenridge is a witness for General 
Miles. Major James M Lancaster, of the Fourth Artillery, tes¬ 
tified before the Cou t that General Shafter could have landed 
cattle at Baiquirl just as easily as he landed 700 horses. It is 
expected that the report of the Court of Inquiry will be handed 
in to the President by April 30. This closes the la6t of four inves¬ 
tigations into the conduct of the campaigns of Cuba and Porto 
Rico. The War Investigating Commission, after an exhaustive 
investigation of the enti e conduct of the army, failed to sus¬ 
tain the charges of the use of improper food for the troops, and 
reported that the beef issued had not been treated with chemi¬ 
cal preservatives. Acting Inspector General Garlington, in the 
report of his investigations, failed to present any evidence of the 
use of chemicals, or that the canned beef was not nutritious. The 
Board of Survey, in its report to the Secretary of War recently 
also held that the refrigerated beef that went to Porto Rico on 
the Manitoba had not been treated chemically. It is learned 
that the Court of Inquiry will make a similar report regarding 
the fresh beef supplied the army in Cuba and Porto Rico. It is 
almost certain that the Court has agreed that the canned roast 
beef was unpalatable, uninviting and unappetizing, but that it 
was nutritious the members do not doubt. That food which pos. 
sessed all these undesirable attributes should yet be nutritious, 
will be a mysterious dictum to the poor fellows who bad to eat it, 
or starve. 
Philippines.—The rebels continue active, and numerous skir¬ 
mishes are reported. The heat is Intense, and our men are suf¬ 
fering from it. . . Gen. Otis asserts that a number of seditious 
and treasonable telegrams have been received and distributed 
among the troops, causing dissatisfaction among volunteers. 
The Government is inquiring into this. . . April 23 there was 
Bevere fighting north of Malolos, the enemy attacking from am¬ 
buscade. Our loss was eight killed and 40 injured. . . The 
American treops moved Api il 24 against the new Filipino capital 
atCalumpit. The insurgents retreated, after setting tire to the 
town. Our losses were six killed and 28 wounded. Calumpit was 
taken April 26, with a loss of 15 killed and wounded. The insur¬ 
gents were strongly intrenched across the Rio Grande, and for 
the first time used cannon. It is reported from Spanish official 
sources that Gen. Luna has superseded Aguinaldo as a leader of 
the Filipinos. It is stated that Luna has issued a proclamation 
pronouncing sentence of death upon any natives found with the 
proclamation of the United States Commissioners in their pos¬ 
session. 
Cuba.—Gen. Brooke says that the Cuban army lists are padded, 
and that he will not pay 39,930 men, the latest number given. 
. . . Negroes in Havana are very disorderly, and indulge in 
frequent fights with the police. . . Bandits are still active near 
Pinar del Rio. . . The sanitary condition of Havana is steadily 
improving, but the doctors report a surprising p-evalence of 
tuberculosis throughout Cuba. . . April 26 Gen. Gomez issued 
a proclamation announcing the formation of a Junta of Cuban 
Generals to advise him. He says that he will consult the Junta 
on all the details regarding the disbandment of the Cuban Army, 
also concerning the question of retaining the arms with which 
the Cubans fought for liberty, as sacred testimonials of the 
struggle for independence, and for the defense of the noble in¬ 
terests which have not been abandoned because the army is to 
disband. He adds that these interests now demand the help of 
all Cubans, and that they should seek to achieve their highest 
aspiration, which is the establishment of an independent demo¬ 
cratic republic. The proclamation causes no surprise among 
those who know that Gen. Gomez has never made any declara¬ 
tion favorable to a postponement of the formation of a Cuban 
republic, or indirectly favoring annexation to the United Sta’es. 
General Foreign News.—An earthquake recently entirely 
wrecked the town of San Vicente, San Salvador. No lives were 
lost, the people having time to escape. . . Earthquakes are 
reported in French Guiana. . . The Sultan of Turkey desires 
to obtain the services of two agricultural experts from this 
country, to be attached to the Ministry of Mines and Forests. . 
April 15 reports from Blueflelds, Nicaragua, stated that thr ex¬ 
pected United States cruiser had not arrived, and conditions 
were critical. The city is under martial law, and foreigners are 
subject to persecution and insult, especially American and 
British subjects. . . 
